As he prepares to hand over the baton to James Duffin, ILP President Perry Hazell reflects on the final months of his presidency year.
A slightly sad start to this month’s Hazell’s Highlights – knowing this will be my last!
Nevertheless, it has been an absolutely brilliant year, and I’m really looking forward to passing the baton to James Duffin at the Lighting Live Annual Conference in Glasgow next month.
I may have technically been winding down but, in reality, the final few months of my presidency were still something of a whirlwind.
I kicked off March with a factory visit to ASD Lighting, joined by our team from Southwark. These kinds of days are so valuable for gaining a real appreciation of the work and care that goes into producing high-quality lighting products.
I’ve visited quite a few manufacturers over the past couple of decades, and I see it as an essential part of understanding production processes. It helps when it comes to specifying, understanding limitations, and scoping out tenders. The team came away genuinely impressed.
That same week, we held our annual Past Presidents’ meeting in London. It’s always an important moment to discuss governance and strategy – and to use the collective wisdom of past presidents as a sounding board for the Institution’s direction and policy.
I think widening the stakeholder pool helps spark great debate – and I’m looking forward to chairing this next year.
PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
During March we also held interviews for the Junior President Elect role – always good to know there’s strong succession in place for the Presidential line, supported by a robust and fair selection process.
Right at the end of the month, I had the honour of attending the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers Livery Dinner as President and guest of Anthony Ginman, master lightmonger.
With the full regalia on show, it was a brilliant evening of discussion with fellow professionals from across the industry.
One of my favourite parts of the night was the military awards. I sat opposite Major Duncan Woods of the 579 Squadron and had some fantastic conversations throughout the evening.
The night was then topped off with a great performance from the 56th Woolwich Cadet Air Force Squadron, which provided the guard of honour and drum corps. Brilliant stuff.
Following on from there, I headed over to Swansea University for find out about the Engineering Education Scheme for Wales.
I was invited by South East Wales co-ordinator Jeremy Morgan, who many will know has transitioned from the lighting world into the world of STEM and education.
It was genuinely exhilarating to be involved in a student-focused engineering event. I was joined by Ben Hiscott from CU Phosco and Scott Rose from Clenergy-EV to run the ILP stand.
We had loads of students swing by to chat about products, the Institution, and careers in the industry. And, of course, to help themselves to as many pens and bits of merch as they could carry – just like any industry event, really!
I’m hoping we’ll return next year for Project Light Ville, which will give students the chance to be formally assessed on the project as part of their course.
SLL DAY OF CPD
As the month drew to a close, I attended the Society of Light and Lighting’s ‘Illuminating the future’ CPD event, for which the ILP was a partner.
It leaned heavily into academic content and focused on the balance between well-lit and dark environments. It sparked a lot of brilliant debate around safety versus nature and standards versus perception.
I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Sheffield University’s Professor Steve Fotios – pacing around the room with a roving microphone – who gave an entertaining and thought-provoking talk on CIE115, challenging the figures and the evidence used in setting standards for engineers.
Our very own Professor Peter Raynham took the post-lunch slot, with discussions on the future of the industry, inclusivity, and (cue dramatic music)… PFI!
The day wrapped up with DFL’s Alistair Scott and Ryan Carroll, who talked about the constraints they faced in a South Downs design project.
Ryan’s passionate campaign to ban the bulkhead – which he’ll be writing about in more detail in a future edition – got a few well-deserved ‘woop woops’ from the crowd!
There was amazing energy and challenge in the room. It’s always great when a topic gets people talking (and even disagreeing!).
To round things off, I attended a Live Labs discussion at King’s Cross. The project, as we reported in last month’s Lighting Journal, continues to push boundaries, challenging standards and exploring how we might shift from evidence-based numbers to people’s actual perceptions and feelings about lighting – all in the name of saving carbon. It is a fascinating initiative, and I’m sure it’ll spark some important future debates.
A FINAL THANK YOU
Finally, as this is my final Hazell’s Highlights (though, don’t worry, expect ‘Duffin’s Diaries’ in future editions), I’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read along during my year as ILP President.
I have been humbled and honoured to be your President. It has been a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m proud to have played a small part in the continued growth of our Institution, and long may that continue.
Image: Perry with master lightmonger Anthony Ginman, at the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers Livery Dinner.
Perry Hazell is President of the ILP as well as business manager, Asset Management Services, Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth, at London Borough of Southwark
This is an abridged version of the article that appears in the May edition of Lighting Journal. To read the full article, simply click on the page-turner to your right.
